As the morning sunlight begins to approach, it's still Porsche up front with its No. 1 919 Hybrid now driven by Andre Lotterer running faultlessly. Further back, the No. 2 Porsche's recovery drive continues – it's down in 16th spot, but a second-place overall finish looks achievable should the car have a clean run to the flag.

The big news from the hour came at the head of the LMP2 field. Nicolas Prost in the class-leading No. 31 Vaillante Rebellion ORECA complained over the radio that "something has broken," before bringing the car in for an emergency stop.

Rebellion's mechanics acted fast, pushing the car back into the garage, getting it back out after quick repairs in six minutes. It had lost its lead, but it was still third. Crucially though, it is now off the lead lap.

As a result, the No. 38 Jackie Chan DC Racing ORECA (pictured) now leads the class ahead of the No. 13 Rebellion ORECA. There's just four seconds between them. For the Swiss-flagged team, what was once a dominant 1-2 in the first half, has been blown wide open.

It appears that the lead in GTE Pro has also changed officially, with the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari leading by a handful of seconds over the pair of Aston Martin Vantages while the trio run in sync. The No. 95 is still second, and pulling away from the No. 97, Nicki Thiim proving quicker than Darren Turner at this stage.

The No. 91 Porsche sits fourth, with the second AF Corse Ferrari rounding out the top five.

JMW Motorsport's lap lead continues to be safe over the TF Sport Aston Martin in GTE Am, which is now firmly in second spot. The No. 77 Proton Porsche is also comfortable, in the class' final podium spot.